She walked along the streets, careful to ignore the horses and carts as the aristocracy headed towards the Imperial Palace to start playing politics with the Regency Council and the Grand Sorcerer. There had been a time when she’d wondered if her magical talent would be enough to win her a place among the rich and powerful, but like all of her dreams it had come crashing down into dust. She simply didn’t have the talent to serve as a Court Wizard, helping to maintain the fragile peace in the Empire, or as an Alchemist working to push back the boundaries of magical knowledge. All she was...was a librarian.
It wasn’t a bad job, really. Books had always fascinated her, even as a child. The orphanage had had quite a few books and her guardians had insisted that she learn to read, believing that it would be easier for her to attract a family who might adopt her. That had never happened, even as she grew older, but she’d never lost the fascination for books. And if she couldn’t afford her own collection – even the new-fangled printed books were expensive – at least she could work with them in the Great Library. It was a position of great responsibility. Miss Prim had told her so time and time again.
“Read all about it!” one of the broadsheet criers shouted, breaking into her thoughts. “Duke of Tara to visit the Golden City! May be engaged to Princess Lorraine! Read all about it!”
Elaine ignored the proffered paper and strode past the crier. She wasn’t entirely sure that she approved of demeaning the printing press by publishing stories about the rich and famous, but she had to admit that it was encouraging people to read. Not that they always printed the truth, of course. Even in her position, she knew the underlying reason why the Duke of Tara would be visiting the Golden City – and it didn’t have anything to do with asking the Regency Council’s permission to wed anyone. The Grand Sorcerer, the supreme authority in the Empire, was dying. And if the Duke happened to be in the Golden City when the Grand Sorcerer died, he’d be in a position to influence the outcome of the contest to select the next Grand Sorcerer.
The thought made her look up towards the Imperial Palace, a dark building of towering, brooding stone. No Emperor resided there now, not after the Second Necromantic War. Officially, the royal bloodline had died out when the Witch-King made his desperate grab for supreme power before unleashing a nightmare across the entire world. Unofficially, there was supposed to be a missing heir – but no one had come forward and successfully claimed the Throne. A vast number of pretenders had certainly
tried
over the years, but they’d sat on the Golden Throne and had never been seen again. The Throne, it was said, knew the true royal bloodline. No substitutions were accepted.
She halted as she turned the corner, just long enough for a line of soldiers to march past and down towards the Watchtower, positioned on the North Peak. Elaine had read enough history to know that the Watchtower had saved the city during the First Necromantic War, but had been destroyed and rebuilt during the Second War – after which it had been maintained by the Regency Council. There was no threat to the Empire, at least as far as she knew, but doubtless they had their reasons. It was also a none-too-subtle reminder of their power, of the mailed fist within the velvet glove. The Golden City was the Empire’s capital. No disturbance could be tolerated within its walls.
The last of the soldiers tramped off into the distance, followed by a small number of young boys with dreams of becoming soldiers themselves. Elaine shook her head in wry amusement at their antics, before glancing up at the position of the sun. She was running late and she really needed to move more quickly. Miss Prim would definitely not be happy if she were late. Thanking the gods for her decision to wear her tunic, rather than a long skirt, she started to move as quickly as she dared. The crowds pressed in around her, seeming to grow thicker as she approached the centre of the city. They’d been joined by small children on their way to school, escorted by their mothers or, in some cases, the family slaves. Elaine shivered when she saw them, remembering her tutors at the orphanage. They’d threatened to sell her into slavery if she didn’t behave herself.
She allowed herself a small pause for breath as the Great Library came into view. It was a towering building, although not as tall as the Imperial Palace, surrounded by statues of famous Alchemists. The statues remained still as long as people were watching them, but they seemed to move slightly when they were unobserved. They were part of the Great Library’s defences against unwanted intruders, but they had always given her the creeps. The statues seemed to hate her somehow, even though she couldn’t have explained why. It was probably a reflection of her own limited sensitivity to magic.
The massive stone doors opened for her as she approached, recognising her magical signature as one who was allowed access. Successive Grand Sorcerers hadn’t been inclined to place all their faith in the statues, no matter how many enchantments had been used to make them obedient and invincible guardians. The Great Library was protected with layer after layer of defensive spells, some bluntly obvious to even the merest of magicians, some so subtle and deadly that any would-be thief would have no opportunity to realise that they were there until it was far too late. Even the Peerless School, a building designed to contain magical accidents caused by trainee sorcerers, was less well defended than the Library. But then, the magical knowledge stored within the stone walls was the source of the Empire’s power. It could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.
Inside, the cool dry air left her feeling uncomfortably sweaty as she ran through the corridors, feeling them twisting and turning around her. The interior of the building lay within a pocket dimension, making it literally bigger on the inside than on the outside. Elaine had been told that the Great Library was actually
alive
, at least on some level, but she’d never been able to sense any governing presence. Perhaps it was just too subtle for her senses to detect, or perhaps it didn’t talk to mere humans. The Great Library had outlasted both of the Necromantic Wars and many other conflicts besides.
The corridors straightened out suddenly and she found herself in the foyer. It was a luxuriously decorated room, covered with paintings of librarians through the ages, but there was no mistaking its purpose. Not
everyone
could be allowed access to the Great Library, or all of the collections housed within its walls. Students from the Peerless School, Senior Wizards, the Regency Council...they had access. Everyone else had to apply to the Head Librarian and convince her that they deserved to enter the Great Library. One day, Elaine told herself, she’d be in that position of power. It was an oddly cheerless thought.
“Elaine,” a stern voice said. Elaine froze, and then tried to calm herself. “What have I told you about being late?”
Elaine held back several different answers and did her best to look contrite. “I’m sorry, Miss Prim,” she said. “The roads were crowded today.”
Miss Prim glowered at her. She was a tall woman, old enough to be Elaine’s grandmother – and a slave, bound to the Great Library. From the rumours Elaine had heard, Miss Prim – not her real name, but one foisted on her by the Grand Sorcerer – had been one of the more successful would-be thieves who tried to steal books from the Library. After she’d been caught red-handed, she’d been enslaved – and, as punishment, assigned to the Library she’d tried to rob. The spell binding her wouldn’t allow her to leave, or to do a bad job.
“We are going to have to do something about your lateness, my girl,” Miss Prim said, severely. Her voice had a knack for cutting through to the heart of any issue. “It really is quite unacceptable. The demand on our services has been rising over the last few months...”
As the Grand Sorcerer prepares to meet the gods
, Elaine thought, sourly. Every Senior Wizard in the world would be considering their own bid to become Grand Sorcerer. They’d be studying, brushing up on their spells – and making contacts with other wizards and even the mundane community. Power was a drug to many wizards and the position of Grand Sorcerer was the most powerful position in the world.
“...And so I expect better from you,” Miss Prim concluded. “Consider yourself lucky that we are no longer in the habit of beating our inferiors. I suggest that you go get yourself suitably presentable for doing your job. You’re going to be assisting some of the very best wizards in the city.”
Elaine nodded as she walked through the foyer and into the small office behind the desk. The Great Library had a dozen reading rooms and a hundred different open collections, but few of the visitors would be interested in books they could buy for themselves. No, they’d be interested in the restricted volumes, the ones kept firmly under lock and key. Some of them would even try to convince her to retrieve books from the Black Vault, despite the Grand Sorcerer’s edict forbidding access without permission from the Regency Council. Elaine found herself silently praying that none of them would be foolish enough to turn nasty if she had to refuse their demands. The Great Library itself took care of any troublemakers, but the effects had an unpleasant tendency to spill over onto unsuspecting bystanders.
She donned the grey smock worn by library staff and took a moment to check her hair. There were a dozen other assistants in the Library at any one time, scattered through the reading rooms and at helpdesks. Despite herself, Elaine knew that the job was important – and it required a special class of person, someone who could be trusted not to abuse the access granted to them by the Library. In her case, it hardly mattered how many forbidden tomes she read, whatever the rules said. She simply didn’t have the power to utilise many of the spells other wizards used daily, let alone dark spells that hadn’t been used since the Necromantic Wars.
“Room Thirteen,” Miss Prim said, when Elaine emerged from the office. “Daphne’s on the desk, but she needs help finding material. Too many wizards up there and they’re getting impatient.”
“Yes, Miss Prim,” Elaine said. She turned and walked down the corridor. Sometimes, the corridors shifted, seemingly at random, but this time the Library seemed inclined to remain still. Room Thirteen was larger than the foyer, with a handful of desks manned by grumpy wizards reading older books and making notes. A small line of wizards stood in front of the main desk, waiting impatiently for their turn. Elaine walked around the desk and looked up at the first in line – and realised, too late, that it was someone she already knew.
“Frogeye,” a delighted voice said. “How nice to see you again.”
Elaine wanted to sink into the floor. Of all the people who had to visit the Great Library – and who she had to serve personally – it just had to be Millicent. The one person she’d met whom she never wanted to see again.
Wonderful
, she thought, bitterly.
This day just keeps getting better and better.
Chapter Two
“Millicent,” Elaine said. “I...”
“I am absolutely
delighted
to see you, Frogeye,” Millicent said. She ran one hand through her long blonde hair, calling attention to the shamefully tight white shirt she was wearing. “This...
girl
wasn’t going to give me what I wanted.”
Elaine winced, inwardly. Millicent, blonde, beautiful and with a magical pedigree as long as her arm, had decided to hate her from the day that Elaine had been accepted to the Peerless School. A young orphan girl couldn’t help Millicent with her carefully-planned career, so Millicent had felt free to pick on Elaine for five years of hell. Elaine remembered – she couldn’t forget – days when she’d discovered that someone had stolen her supplies, trapped her wand and scribbled on her books. And the week she’d spent as a frog after Millicent had decided to practice her transfiguration on an unsuspecting victim. No wonder Daphne had been uncooperative. Millicent had a remarkable talent for irritating people.
“Here,” Millicent said, thrusting a sheet of paper at Elaine. “I want these books,
now
.”
Elaine scanned the list, wishing that she was strong enough to stand up to Millicent. But Millicent only respected magical power and good breeding and Elaine had neither. No one knew who her parents had been, or why they’d chosen to abandon their daughter, but Millicent hadn’t hesitated to draw a possible conclusion. Illegitimate children were still regarded as shameful, even ones who showed signs of magical power. And Elaine’s power had never been significant enough to convince her unknown parents to change their minds.
“You want
all
of these books?” Elaine asked, in surprise. None of them were on the prohibited list for a fully-qualified sorceress, but they were all alarmingly close to the line. Some of them had only been one vote from being added to the Black Vault. “Do you have...?”
Millicent grinned as she produced a scroll and passed it over to Elaine. “My aunt, Lady Light Spinner, the
next
Grand Sorcerer, was kind enough to grant me permission to study how I liked,” she said. “Now hop to it, Frogeye, or you’ll be hopping around for the rest of the day.”
Elaine rebelled the only way she could, by studying the parchment carefully. Lady Light Spinner
was
known to her, although she hadn’t realised that Millicent was actually her niece – but then, the family ties between the senior wizards were often confusing. And she
did
have the authority to permit Millicent to study any tome outside the Black Vault itself. Elaine checked the magical seal, doing her best to ignore Millicent’s twitching wand arm, and then passed it back to her tormentor. Maybe she could take longer than she would normally have done to locate all the books.
“It seems to be in order,” she said, blandly. “Why don’t you take a seat and wait while I go find the books?”
“I’m in Room Fourteen,” Millicent said, flatly. “Bring them to me there. I shall have others ready for you to find by then.”
She swept out of the reading room, leaving Elaine staring after her in helpless rage. Millicent had always been a bitch, but then she’d had the breeding and magical power to back it up. She hadn’t even been significantly punished after the frog incident, even though the Administrator himself had lectured her in front of the entire school. A less well-connected girl might well have been expelled, or forced to serve as the test subject for junior potions. Shaking her head, she picked up the list and skimmed through it again. Some of the items on the list were definitely not books she wanted Millicent to read.